Page 63 of Home Field Advantage

I exhale deeply. “Here’s hoping.”

It takes all my best pleading to get Miguel dressed and in the car, complete with repeating “I got a freakinglimo!” about a thousand times, but by the time we round the corner to Malcolm’s house, he’s bouncing with even more excitement than we are. Miguel had texted him to get ready in his school dance best, and Mal delivered, emerging in a pair of perfectly fitted jeans and a tailored blazer. Together, we share a bottle of sparkling cider—the only thing my mom would allow—and take turns being complete tools and sticking our heads out the window.

“All hail the rainbow brigade!” Malcolm yells, and the rest of us laugh and yank him back down. With Jack and I havingvery publicly come out last night, we know the focus tonight is going to be mostly on Miguel, and we want to make sure he has as good a time as possible. Even if that means letting him have control of the music.

It’s way too short a drive to school, despite having Stefan take the longest way possible, and by the time we arrive, everyone is staring: people might get limos for prom, but no one gets them for homecoming.

Then again, we’re not just anybody.

“Nice ride!” someone calls out, and I blow a kiss out the sunroof, giving no fucks as to whether it was sarcastic or not. Jack exits first, and I scramble out to take her arm and wait for the guys. For all the fun we had on the way here, this is a massive and terrifying moment for Miguel, and I wish I could reach into the limo and take his hand, but I’m not the person he needs holding him steady right now.

Miguel and Malcolm emerge together, and if possible, it seems like the crowd has grown outside. But when they take each other’s hands and the gawking and whispers really start, we all about-face and march straight into the school, focusing on nobody but each other, on nothing but celebrating ourselves with terrible music and even worse punch.

-JACK-

I’ve always hated being talked about, but tonight it’s proving particularly hard to get to me.

It might be that it’s really tough to distract from the ridiculously hot girl on my arm and the scent of sweet floral shampoo wafting off her big glossy curls.

It might be that I finally feel like I look like myself.

It might be that if I proved anything this weekend, it’s that I can take on anyone in this room.

It might be how Miguel, for all his obvious nerves, is fucking glowing in Malcolm’s presence.

It might be any of those things.

But of course, we make it about five feet into the gym before we bump up against Sanchez and Devlin, and being talkedaboutfades into the woodwork, because they are definitely talkingtous.

“Y’all know this is a school dance, not a fucking Pride parade,” Sanchez spits, his stink eye practically rolling in its socket as he struggles to figure out which of his teammates is more deserving of it.

“Don’t worry, Sanchez,” Santiago says, puffing out his chest. “No one’s confused into thinking y’all have anything to be proud of. Everyone saw the game last night.”

“Burn!” someone says cheerfully from the crowd of bystanders.

“Shut the fuck up, Barrett,” Devlin snaps.

But Barrett won’t shut up, and I realize it’s Austin from my English class—the guy who’s always blatantly staring at Amber’s legs. I knew he had good taste. “He’s right, though. Neither of y’all could catch for shit last night. If anyone deserves to be here—with whomever the fuck they want—it’s these two.” He gestures at me and Miguel.

“Hear, hear!” someone else calls, and a whole bunch of voices echo.

“So this is how it’s gonna be?” Devlin snarls. “No one gives a shit who we have to share our locker room with anymore? No one gives a shit that Robbie’s gone?”

“You don’t have to be an asshole to prove you give a shit that Robbie’s gone.”

The voice is quiet, but it’s so unexpected that it renders everyone else silent. I don’t know where Cara Whelan’s been hiding—especiallythisCara Whelan—but she’s back, and she has clearly got something to say.

Taking advantage of the silence, she turns to Amber, whose nails are digging into my arm so deeply, I can feel them through my suit jacket. “I owe you an apology. I didn’t know what to do with my grief and I took it out on you.” She glances at me. “Both of you.” And then, she turns to Miguel. “And you. I knew what he was doing to you.”

Miguel looks like he wants to spit fire in response, and I don’t blame him. “You ever think of stopping him, maybe?” he snaps, and Malcolm reaches for his hand and squeezes it.“You know what hell it is, being on a team with someone who’s blackmailing you? Having to work with someone who wants to ruin your life?”

Whispers spring up like brushfires, and all I can think isI do. No wonder Miguel was willing to piss off everyone else to come to my side.

“I can’t imagine,” she says, her eyes on the floor. The way her jaw is working at the words, it’s like she’s prying everything out with a crowbar. And maybe that’s what it feels like, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Atherton, it’s that people don’t take kindly to dragging Robbie Oakes through the mud. “I should’ve stopped him. And I should’ve told you I knew the truth about y’all,” she adds to Amber. “I was in love with him and it all sounded right, but youarethe one person who’s always been there for me. And I don’t wanna hurt you for anybody. Even if I don’t… understand everything about you.”

Well, I could’ve done without that last part, and judging by the tic in Miguel’s jaw, he could’ve done without any of it. It seems to be enough for Amber, though, or maybe she just needs some little sense of closure. For the first time that night, she lets go of my arm, going to hug Cara. I feel strangely cold without her body heat. But a moment later she’s back, and all feels right with the world, especially when Cara declares she just wanted to say that and now she’s going home.

With so much to process, everyone’s forgotten about the four of us for a minute, and we quickly escape to the drinkstable. “So what happened with the infamous Terry Lawrence?” Santiago asks. “Did you get to talk to him?”

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